Jamie Peate is global head of effectiveness and retail at McCann Worldgroup and McCann Manchester.
After deciding against a career in nuclear physics, Peate joined Lever Bros working as a brand manager on Domestos and Persil. He moved from marketing into advertising and joined McCann in 2010.
He is currently the global strategy lead for Aldi and over the last 14 years has worked on its multi-creative and effectiveness campaigns such as ‘Like Brands’ and ‘Kevin the Carrot.’
But that’s not all as he is also the global head of creative effectiveness for the network and has led McCann Manchester to be the most awarded agency in the UK for Effectiveness, and McCann Worldgroup to be the No.1 agency network in the Global Effie Effectiveness Index.
Here, Peate (pictured right, with his husband John and dog Izzy also known as ‘The Moo’), shares all the lessons he’s learnt with us.
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
Not taking anything, including myself too seriously. It’s very easy to get caught up in your own self-importance and in the ‘importance’ of the work you’re doing.
I’m a walker – I love being outside, especially with John and Izzy – it’s a great way to connect with nature and the everyday world, and get perspective on things.
I’m also a news junkie, high and low brow – John Lennon got some his best ideas for songs from news headlines.
What’s been your luckiest break?
I’m a great believer in luck. When you read the many self-help, career guidance and bios of successful people they never really mention the lucky breaks they got. I had a loving family growing up and also found a life partner of 33 year and still going strong, so I count my blessings every day. I also value the fact I come from Blackpool where my mum and dad had a shop and my brother worked in showbiz – it has taught me that ‘showmanship’ is as important and ‘salesmanship’ in advertising.
I also moved from a science/technical career into a marketing/commercial without any real plan to do so – that was lucky!
What’s your best failure?
There have been many in my 38-year career. The best one was running a self-liquidating sports bag offer on Persil. This self-liquidating offer involved collecting on-pack coupons and then paying a small amount to cover the cost price of the item. I think we redeemed about 5% of the amount of bags we bought and we used them to carry samples when we went to meetings with the supermarket buying teams. I remember going to see the left-over stock – there was so much it filled a warehouse!
What is the best investment you have ever made, either financial or time?
There are a few. A good pair of walking boots. I’d encourage everyone to get out into nature – it will nourish your mind, body and soul. William Wordsworth wrote in his poem The Tables Turned:
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good
Than all the sages can.
I love cooking and treated myself to some Le Creuset pans because they will last a lifetime. Also spend time in culture, high and low, art, TV, fiction, museums whatever. I find more there to help me in my advertising and marketing career than I ever have in any book on advertising and marketing.
What podcast or book would you recommend?
Although I’m not a big fan of books about business/marketing/advertising (as I think they are mostly rubbish) some good ones are:
The Master and his Emissary by Dr Iain McGilchrist – it will change how you think about adverting and communications for ever.
The Anatomy of Humbug and Why does the Peddler Sing by Paul Feldwick – two great books on the ways in which advertising might work.
Look out! by Orlando Wood – A practitioners guide to making better and more creatively effective ads.
And some of my podcast picks are:
Adam Morgan’s ‘Let’s make this more interesting’ – it’s terrific and I’d recommend everyone treat themselves to episode 4 where Adam talks to Norman Stiles – Head Writer on Sesame Street for 20 years.
Jon Evans ‘The Uncensored CMO’ series – quality guests and quality conversation.
He also has one with Orlando call ‘Never mind the Adverts’ which is great too.
What advice would you give your 21 year old self?
I turned 21 in 1986 – right in the middle of Thatcher’s Britain and the AIDS crisis. It was not a great time to be an out gay man!
If you had told me in 2024 I would be fully out in my personal professional life and gay marriage would be legal I would not have believed you.
So, my advice would be – ‘Don’t worry kid – things get better!’
Who or what has been the biggest influence on your working life?
All of the other people that it has been, and still is, my privilege to work with. Collaboration and teamwork are the way to success. We all play our part in delivering the final solution and result and we all have responsibility for its success, and failure, and towards each other.
That does not mean that everything is a group activity – some things are best done on your own or with a close partner, but the power that a diverse team with diverse perspectives can bring is unstoppable.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people
I have always wanted to be The Doctor (as in Doctor Who). Not play the part but actually be him/her.
Imaging having a ship that’s a time and space machine so you could go to anywhere and anytime in the universe – how cool would that be.
Also, The Doctor tries to do the right thing, stop violence, do good and use intelligence and reason rather than force to solve problems – you can’t argue with that.
We all have a favourite Doctor – for me it has to be Tom Baker (although Jon Pertwee comes a close second.)
If there was one thing you could change about your career, what would it be?
There are five things I always tell a new strategist – I would have liked someone to have told them to me too:
- Don’t be a t**t and try to be the smartest person in the room
- Listen more, talk less
- Always put yourself into other people shoes (have empathy)
- Let go or your ideas and embrace the ideas of others
- Base your thinking on evidence
What does success look like to you?
If we’re talking success for brands/services/clients then that’s easy – positive fame.
Being famous is a big advantage in life. As the great Bob Hoffman, ‘The Ad Contrarian’ says: ‘Why do some people get the best tables in fancy restaurants while nicer people can’t get in? Because they’re famous’.
Famous brands and services are more familiar to people and they feel more comfortable choosing them. That is very helpful when there is more than one brand or service to choose from.
If we’re talking personally then it’s living a happy healthy life with the people you love. To me that is personal success in a nutshell.
It’s certainly not making money for the sake of making money – as my dad used to say ‘ you can only eat one dinner at once’
